I remember riding through the Midwest of the United States with my family when I was a kid. We were traveling to our new home in Kansas City Missouri. As we approached the Royals baseball stadium on US 70, we began to see the outline of the skyline of this wonderful city. I had never seen buildings this grand and as tall. It's not the largest US city but it is a striking view from 20 miles away.

This must have been the effect that was created in the city of Pergamum both because it was situated on a hill and because of the majestic temples which sat there. Surely the people who lived there must have been proud of such a majestic setting. But for the community of believers that lived there all this represented a threat.

So, in our study of the seven churches of Revelation, what did Jesus have to say to the church in the city of Pergamum? Remember, this is the vision from Jesus that the Apostle John saw while he was a prisoner on the Island of Patmos.

(Revelation 2:12-17)

¹² “Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum: “The One who has the sharp, double-edged sword says: ¹³ I know where you live—where Satan’s throne is! And you are holding on to My name and did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness who was killed among you, where Satan lives. ¹⁴ But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. ¹⁵ In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Therefore repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth. ¹⁷ “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the victor some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone, a new name is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it. 

Jesus tells the Christians at Pergamum, Asia's capital, that he carries a double-edged sword. John saw Jesus with a sword in Chapter 1, symbolizing his authority to judge and defeat His enemies. The Roman proconsul wielded the sword from his Pergamum judgment bench. He could persecute, but not rule. Christ alone has all authority. If Christ's opponents are people who claim His name but follow heresy, what then? His sword will be used against them (v. 16).

Christ mentions Satan two times in these verses. It's unclear what this meant originally. But the city's many Roman emperor temples or the massive altar to Zeus overlooking the city may be the meaning. The Christian life was difficult because the devil utilized this city as a stronghold. Antipas, a devoted gospel witness, was executed there. Christ praised these believers who did not abandon their confidence in Him, despite the persecution.

Pergamum's church faced the opposite issue as the church at Ephesus. Instead of rejecting false teachers, they wholeheartedly accepted the teaching of Balaam. Jesus compares this teaching to the Nicolaitans' doctrine.

Numbers 22–24 describe Balaam and Barak's story. The false prophet Balaam and monarch Barak first failed to curse the Israelites. Later, they inadvertently led God's people astray by idolatry and immorality (Numbers 25:1–2; 31:16). Food dedicated to gods was promoted differently by Balaam than by the church of Pergamum. The gods had changed. (1 Corinthians 8) covers this topic most fully. In that passage, Paul emphasizes that Christians should never violate their consciences. Even though we know little of the false teachers at Pergamum, they must have taught a subtle distortion: conscience violation is okay provided there is no explicit Christian doctrine at risk.

Balaam promoted Israelite husbands' adultery with Moab women, which was different from Pergamum's sexual immorality (probably connecting with temple prostitutes). In 1 Corinthians 5–7, this is most fully discussed. There, Paul makes it plain that Christians are to only have sexual connections in marriage. False teachers at Pergamum must have taught that marital bond breach is okay if done in the name of religion. Perhaps they argued something like this: As Christ abolished the Law, which included adultery, Christians are free to participate in any sexual interactions they deem “meaningful.” This would appeal to pagan religious groups who considered promiscuous sex as normal.

Some Pergamon Christians tolerated untruth by saying that moral, conscience, or marital sin is okay. Christ says no to this with intensity. Like their companions in Ephesus, they must repent and ask forgiveness (v. 5). If not, the penalty will be severe.

These church members had become Christ's enemy. He said, "I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth." This is too important to miss. Balaam-like false teachers and Nicolaitans are not God's people, even though they infiltrated the church. (Balaam had seen a frightening angel of the Lord with a sword (Numbers 22:31). This can be compared to (Revelation 19:15) where it is said that Christ’s Word strikes down the unbelieving, rebellious nations in judgment.

The letter to Pergamum ends with the typical reference to one who hears and overcomes. At the end of this passage, we see two different symbols of eternal life. They are Jewish and Gentile emblems of eternal life. The Israelites had "hidden" a pot of divinely given bread in the ark of the covenant. The Jewish people believed that this manna had miraculously been preserved and would multiply to feed them when the Messiah came (Exodus 16:32–35; 2 Maccabees 2:5–7). We can also see this symbol of eternal life in (Revelation 19:9), in the wedding supper of the Lamb.